Spencers
Wood, Reading
Introduction
The Warrens Croft site lies 8km to the south of Reading,
to the south of the village of Spencers Wood, on the western side
of Basingstoke Road (NGR SU 7135 6598). Following a desk-top assessment
of available local data, it was concluded that an archaeological
evaluation of the site was appropriate prior to the construction
of 121 new dwellings.
The evaluation was carried out in late 2004. Seventy-two trial
trenches were excavated, providing a 7% sample of the site. Archaeological
deposits including ditches, gullies, pit ands post-holes were
identified and recorded in just under half of the trenches. Material
ranging in date from the Mesolithic to the post-medieval period
was encountered, with the majority of the material dating from
the Late Iron Age/Early Romano-British period confirming the significance
of the site, and underlined the need for more archaeological work.
Based on the results of the evaluation, it was decided to undertake
two large area excavations at the site, targeted in the areas
of archaeological interest under maximum threat of ground disturbance
during the redevelopment. It was also agreed that a watching brief
would be maintained during groundworks in another specific area
of the site. No features of archaeological interest were encountered
during the watching brief, but following the mechanical removal
of topsoil, two large areas of differing archaeological character
were investigated and recorded.
Excavation Area I
Excavation Area I was located in the eastern part of
the site, in an area in which a range of archaeological features
of varying date had been encountered during the evaluation phase.
An area measuring 2691m2 was stripped and investigated.
The most striking archaeological features revealed were a series
of shallow ditches and gullies running across the site on two
distinctly different alignments. Most of south-west to north-east
aligned features contained small assemblages of predominantly
late Roman material dating from the third and fourth centuries
AD, whereas the east to west aligned features contained predominantly
medieval pottery. Residual and intrusive material from both periods
was present in many of the features.
A small number of post-holes and pits were also encountered,
containing pottery ranging in date from the Late Iron Age to the
medieval period, but with Late Romano-British pottery clearly
dominating the assemblage. The largest group of Late Romano-British
pottery, dating from the third and fourth centuries AD came from
an irregular pit located at the north-western corner of the excavated
area. More than 300 sherds were recovered.
The most notable medieval assemblages were recovered from a ditch
terminal which contained the largest medieval pottery group from
the site, and from an infilled pond in the centre of a complex
of ditches and gullies, from which a large quantity of medieval
ceramic building material and a small assemblage of medieval pottery
was recovered.
Excavation Area II
Excavation Area II was located in the western part of the site,
in an area in which a range of archaeological features of predominantly
Late Iron Age/Early Romano-British date had been encountered during
the evaluation phase. An area measuring 3227m2 was stripped and
investigated, although a Tree Preservation Order limited the area
available for excavation.
The main group of archaeological features consisted of a re-cut
ditch apparently enclosing an area containing other ditches, gullies
and a small number of pits of varying size. The ditch enclosed
an area considerably larger than that examined in Excavation Area
II, having been encountered in a number of trial trenches during
the evaluation phase. Much of the interior of the enclosure will
be preserved in situ as part of a Public Open Space, or adjacent
to protected trees, with approximately a quarter of the enclosure
subjected to archaeological investigation owing to the risk from
development.
The deposits encountered in this area were predominantly early
Roman in date, with the majority of pottery assemblages suggesting
activity in the first century AD. Particularly significant groups
of pottery were recovered from a number of sections excavated
across the enclosure ditch(es). All of the pits contained early
Roman pottery including sizeable groups from two shallow rubbish
pits. An interesting assemblage, including kiln bars, was recovered
from another pit, but this lay at the extreme eastern edge of
the site adjacent to the area of protected trees, and hence no
associated features or structures could be investigated. Unfortunately
no clear evidence of structures was encountered in Area II as
a whole, and it is presumed that any surviving building remains
of either domestic or industrial character are situated under
the protected trees or below the Public Open Space.
Post-Excavation Work
A programme of post-excavation analysis is currently
being undertaken, leading to the eventual publication of the site,
a significant addition to the corpus of sites investigated in
rural Berkshire.
Project Officer: Simon Stevens
Client: Bovis Homes
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